Jim King Fundamental Principles and Leg Work Seminar

Jim King Fundamental Principles and Leg Work Seminar - Sunday, October 3rd, 2004

Day Two began with one of the more unusual exercises I've done in training. Jim had us assemble into groups of four, one person sitting on the ground with shoes untied, while the other three kicked or walked through the person on the ground. The goal is to tie your shoes while avoiding the kicks. I thought it might be easier for me, with buckles on my Chinese slippers, than for my classmates with their laces. But I found myself either moving and avoiding the kicks, forgetting my shoes, or just sitting there bucking my shoe and letting people kick or walk through me (which they did quite gently; the other groups were a bit more enthusiastic in their kicks). Edgar told me to buckle my shoe and move at the same time, not one or the other! I had trouble finding the tiny little hole in the strap of my slipper but I finally got both shoes more or less buckled. Continuing the shoe theme, we put on each of our shoes while standing on the other leg; Jim reminded us this is a simple and easy way to practice balance at home.

"Who's sore from yesterday?" Jim asked; most of us raised our hands, and he seemed pleased about this. He told us that where we are sore, that's where the tension is. There is much insight to be found in soreness, bruises, and other injuries. I was very sore on Sunday morning, but was less so after a few hours of training with emphasis on relaxation of the legs. Still, I was glad we did only a few squats. We held positions at 45 degrees, low 45, 90, 0, as on Saturday, while Jim again walked around checking posture and placing his hand on tense spots. Then the same sort of yielding exercise as previously, with one person on one leg, pushing each other, circling the hips starting with the base leg, to develop balance and to practice generating wave-like motion. Then both people on one leg, pushing each other. Once again he cautioned us better to go down or step to the other leg than flail around wildly trying to regain balance; at the same time, he encouraged us not to simply step back and forth from leg to leg, but to try to relax and remain on the one leg. He emphasized keeping our eyes up; giving our partners permission to "punish" us if we looked down or started flailing around.

Then two people kicked one person, who stood on one leg. You could redirect the kick or avoid however you wanted, but only on one leg. Fluid hips make this a lot easier; I found that beginning the hip circle by first dipping down, then up, in a sort of 3-dimensional bowl shape, made it a little easier than trying to circle the hips laterally.

Next we did some very unusual balance exercises. One person put themselves into a crazy position on one leg, for example, pretending to lean forward and tie the shoe or leaning way out or way back, and the other pushed various places, the goal being of course to not to lose your balance. The only way to do this is to circle the hips, yielding to the push, and restoring yourself. On one leg, it's impossible to resist the push and retain balance. I learned that standing on one leg requires relaxation and acceptance that you are balanced on one leg; rather than viewing it as something to overcome.

We also did similar balance exercise where your partner manipulates you into a strange position, for example, leaning your head way forward or back or holding a leg in an odd way, supporting you so that they are bearing your full weight, and then they let go. I found this one easier than the previous, but it may be that we weren't getting each other into unusual enough positions; I felt well- balanced even before my partner let go.

I enjoyed all this balance work on one leg, even though I sometimes found myself flailing around or veering to the opposite side to compensate. It's a mental exercise as well as physical; balance is internal, personal, but not an innate talent; it develops depending on how often you use it. The lurching NYC subway is good practice, especially riding without holding onto anything, as suggested in Vlad's Solo Training Tips.

We moved into punching each other, with one person still on one leg, avoiding the punches by circling the hips. This was difficult for us, so Jim modified the exercise a little; he told us we could step to the other leg, but only after first avoiding, and then we had to immediately lift the other leg so we were standing on the opposite leg. The purpose of this was not to get us good at fighting on one leg, but to get us to use both of them freely. Being planted firmly on both legs is contrary Systema's principle of constant movement, and good balance is more freedom, the ability to work in all dimensions.

Throughout both days, Jim emphasized the lower you go, the more range and mobility you'll have. Although it's not necessary to go lower, it can be very helpful to be able to fight at different levels when your opponent is limited to an upright, straight-legged position. "You should be low enough to kick your partner at stomach level," he said. Jim demonstrated how much less range is available with straight legs. It's much harder to move the hips freely if the legs are locked. With relaxed hips and correct posture, legwork is no more complicated that walking or stepping. Jim mentioned that this principle also applies to the arms.

We ended our one-legged work and began to work on both legs, although Jim wanted us to keep those ideas in mind even as we stepped freely with either leg. We started with an avoidance exercise, punching our partners while they stepped through the punch. As yesterday, Jim demonstrated how a single "step" can result in much damage, lifting up, lowering down, hitting one leg, then the other, rotating the hips with the base leg to create different angles and ranges, all in a single step. "What goes up, must come down," he said, although the reverse is also true in this case, as he showed up how down-up steps can also punish someone in a multitude of different places.

We spent some time working on chokes, grabs, and holds, defending against such attacks using the legs. It was impressive to see Jim free himself from every kind of hold using only his legs, I'm sorry I cannot remember everything he demonstrated. I remember that he showed us how, when someone is choking you, simply kicking through one of their legs completely disrupts their balance, forcing them to choose between falling down, or letting go and remaining standing, either way works to your advantage. We practiced freeing ourselves from different holds and chokes using just the legs, finding different solutions for static situations. Jim told us to follow through and avoid short sharp reflexive kicks, but to push through the leg to create space between yourself and the person choking or holding you.

We also practiced defending against kicks to each other using the hands, for a change. Jim showed how catching the leg and lifting it up, sort of "throwing" it, you can easily take someone down or even flip them right over, depending on which way you "throw" the leg. Of course, timing is especially important for this one, as a kick at full speed might be tricky to catch with your hands, but sometimes things might just work out that way. But as the theme would suggest, he showed many different ways to redirect the kicking leg using the legs. A simple way is to just rotate away, then back in again with your thigh underneath the kicking leg before it lands. We practiced "hooking" and redirecting the kicking leg with your leg bent, and then attacking the base leg with the same movement, as on Saturday. We also practiced hooking the kicking leg and dragging it a little further out, so the other person's legs are spread wide apart, which disrupts the balance. The tricky thing about these last two is that you have to use the different parts of your leg, rather than thinking of it as one long straight limb, instead the thigh can go one way, while the calf goes another. You can avoid a kick by moving your whole leg, but you can also just lift the leg and rotate only the bottom part. I don't think I've explained that any too well, but maybe you can picture it. He also showed how straightening your leg can also be effective defense against a kick, by stepping into the kick, staying low, sliding his leg close to the foot as it landed, and then straightening up the leg again, disrupting the kicking leg as it landed.

Jim also talked a little more about working to the ankles. It's not necessary to redirect the leg while it's in the air; you can get the ankle just before it hits the ground, or even just after. But timing is very important, if the attacking leg is firmly planted and the other person has restored their balance, it's best to move onto some other part. He demonstrated how easily the ankles can be broken if you use your leg as a lever to hold it in place, sort of catching the ankle with your foot, then using your calf to inflict pressure. But even with more gentle manipulation, the body neatly follows the rotation of the ankle outside its natural range.

Toward the end of the seminar, Jim asked if we had any questions or wanted to see anything in particular. I suggested groundwork, not because I had any particular question, just wanted to see Jim working on the ground. He did a quick demonstration of using your legs while on the ground, emphasizing that the principles were just the same as with standing work. We spent a few minutes practicing on the ground. To start off Jim had us do the exercise where you wiggle your butt across the floor, keeping the feet off the floor, backwards, forwards, and side to side, just like walking, he explained, he told us not to wiggle the hips widely side to side, but to keep the hips more or less straight and use a back-and-forth motion. Jim warned us not to let our feet touch the floor, for what seemed like an awfully long time! But he did say we could rest by wrapping our arms underneath the knees, to speed things along, Jim has us form groups of four, three kicking one person, Jim cautioning us not to wrestle while we were on the floor. We spent a few minutes kicking each other, with the one on the floor redirecting the kicking leg, sitting or laying down, changing positions as needed, and taking down the kicking people if the opportunity presented itself.

A few people asked about punching, and specifically defense against a boxer's punches. Jim told us not to get hung up in their space, or distracted by trying to aim for the face, but simply to move the punches aside and work some other part of the body. Jim demonstrated how the movement of avoiding punches naturally presents the target, "waving" the punches aside and striking the ribs and other areas exposed by the punching, as well and "swimming" through a series of punches with movement of the shoulders, moving into the person and behind them once the punches were waved aside.

We spent a few minutes practicing what Jim had demonstrated. Although the seminar was about legwork, I learned a lot about punching in a short time. First we practiced punching like boxers, both partners with arms up, one punching, the other avoiding, the movement leading to a punch to the ribcage or whatever area was exposed by the punch. "Swimming" through a flurry of punches was similar to "stepping" through kicks. Instead of thinking of where my hands were going to end up, I tried to "swim" into my partner's arms, lifting slightly over rather than moving my arms parallel to the floor, and locking my partner with movement of my shoulders. Although we practiced this briefly, it made this principle much more clear to me, that the movement is from the shoulder, not from the hand or even the arm. Also, though it may seem obvious, I learned that there's no need to remain within the same space trying to block or avoid the punches when you can simply move out.

Someone asked about attacking the punching arm or hand itself, and Jim said this can work well with "Neanderthal" type of punches. He demonstrated how to deaden the attacking arm with a well-placed blow. With this, as with many of Jim's demonstrations, I was just amazed as his knowledge of biomechanics, not just how the body moves, but also exactly which places are the most vulnerable. After deadening a volunteer's arm, Jim demonstrated how to restore sensation to the arm by tugging the pinky finger. He also talked about how restore the solar plexus when the wind is knocked out of you, by sort of shaking yourself to re-align everything so you can breathe again. I have seen people `draw' out the punch or otherwise reduce the pain of a strike, as well as people who can absorb strikes that would have most people on the ground. But I was surprised by the extent to which this can be applied. No part of the body can be isolated from the rest of it, the muscles work in conjunction with each other, so it's not surprising that a muscle in the hand can affect on in the arm…some of these muscles actually extend all the way from the hand to the arm, or from the foot to the lower leg. Even so, watching it demonstrated was quite fascinating; I learned a little more about Systema's unique approach to survival.

We finished with "Russian massage," that is, walking on each other. One person lays face down, the other starts walking on them beginning at the legs, being careful not to step on any joints, and avoiding the spine. "If it's uncomfortable, it's supposed to be!" said Jim, but I think most of us enjoyed it. It's great for both people, the one walking, for balance, and for the other, of course, massage. Although if the person walking on you doesn't have such good balance, it can be a bit uncomfortable! On the other hand, if they are balanced and know where to step, it doesn't matter how heavy they are, it's quite relaxing.

Afterwards, Jim offered punches to the attendees, and several people impressed us all with their ability to absorb strikes. If you ever have this opportunity, it's very beneficial on many different levels. I would have liked to volunteer, and to my surprise, my mom wanted to also. But I was too self-conscious to ask Jim how he feels about striking ladies, not to mention being the center of attention even for a few minutes. Perhaps next time I'll find the courage to inquire.

Jim taught us more than I can possibly describe even in my long- winded training logs. Working against various attacks by bending and straightening his legs, moving upward and downward, stepping through, Jim emphasized no wasted movement, but to just move, and use every motion. It almost seems too good to be true, by avoiding, using your fear reaction, but not succumbing to it, just by moving, the solution presents itself. Although we avoid danger all the time, while riding the subway, driving on a highway, walking over a bridge, danger from other people invokes the desire to compete and prevail over them. The "snapping tree branch" analogy is used (in the Guidebook?) to describe how we do not compete for space. If you're walking on a trail behind someone who causes a green tree branch to bend forward, most people will simply move aside and avoid the branch as it snaps back. It would be foolish to simply stand there and "compete" for space with the branch. We do not block or otherwise trying to stop the movement of an opponent; but yield to it instead, we do not fight fire with fire, as my teacher has described it. But it's a challenge, because human beings tend to compete with each other much more than with green branches, maybe it is just part of human nature to compete for the best resources, but then again, so are other more benevolent qualities, such as companionship and altruism, so it's just a matter of finding a good balance, pun intended.